Hi,,, I have a feeling that many of my clients will not be interested in the bear meat as they are for the mount. I eat everything I hunt and accept all game that is offered to my while guiding. However, 5-8 bears may get tiring with the same few recipes. Any help of some good ones would be great. Good sauces or seasoning would go along way as well. Thanks.

Thanks Cat, my outfitter commented on the fat rendering, being of great use in cooking. I didn't want to ask him this silly question but if I ask you, it might not be so silly. What or how do you mean "render" the fat?

My mom always used a deep cast iron skillet, just cut the fat into pieces about 1/2" thick. Turn the heat on just enough to get the lard to start dripping into the skillet, once you have a little liquid lard in the skillet you can add more pieces. You will need to have some quart size plastic feezer containers to pour the liquid lard into. Just pour off most of the liquid lard into the containers to be frozen for later use. Remember to keep the heat down so that it just melts the lard and doesn't scorch it. The part that is left over, they will be floating in the lard, are called cracklings. They are like the pork rinds you can buy that are seasoned in a bag like potatoe chips. You can also season these to eat as snacks. Hope this helps.

_________________EARTH FIRST: We will trap, mine and log the other planets later.

Here is one I found on the internet that I think is pretty close, just substitute bear for beef, you can use deer or elk as well. I would say that 1 gal of filling would only make 4 pies, my Mom always canned it in quart jars one jar per pie. Packing it into the jars while it is still hot and putting canning lids on them, ALL MEAT HAS TO BE PRESSURE CANNED.

Mince Meat Filling

Mary Merz uses a recipe from her mother's book which dates back to 1910. This mince meat filling was in her mother's handwriting, and acknowledged that it came from Mrs. Soden. We salute you, Mrs. Soden, and we salute you, Mary, for saving this mince meat recipe. Read about Mary in flour by the sackful.

Put all ingredients, except for brandy, into a 8 quart pot. Mix well, and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until apples are soft, stirring frequently. When softened, cook for 30 minutes, partially covered. Season with brandy.

You have been of great help Cat. Gonna try to render some fat next weekend. I usually process all my own game but am thinking of letting my nearby butcher do some bear sausage. Has anyone had this done, if so what kind (salami might also be a good one)?

Thanks Cat,,, I got bear meat coming out my ying-yang here!! I found a nearby meat processor (Southfork Sausage). Gonna have it all made up into summer sausage, jerky and pepper sticks. Makes me hungry already~

Yes Cat, I bone it all out (have to buy another freezer as it is). I did about 15 lbs. without silver skin but now that has been too much work. I'll let them do that, all I have time for now is to bone it out. As for the fat, some bears have it others do not. That 400+ bear had a ton of fat. It was like cutting butter. I kept that fat and another. Again time is limited so I froze that fat for a later date. I hope that's ok, it's in ice cream pails with freezer wrap around it. Going to the Southfork Sausage Co. this Friday. Can't wait! However, I got one more week of bear guiding and then what was not claimed or left behind, I am sure Rick (my outfitter) will suggest I take it. Hopefully I'll find another freezer at a garage sale Friday. Lord knows I always get my deer meat (elk is in order this season as well).

I wouldn't worry about that silver skin, they grind it up pretty fine for sausage. That fat will be fine as long as the air can't get to it. I forgot these were spring bear and some wont have fat. Better save a few choice roasts off one of the smaller bears, especially one that hasn't run too far.

_________________EARTH FIRST: We will trap, mine and log the other planets later.

Well, the bear meat is at Southfork Sausage Co. and will be done when I get back from this next week's guiding. Apparently they will not be accepting any more game to process as they have too much with their FDA beef processing. It was nice of them to make me the last exception. However, they could only do links or sticks. Sausage was a 100 lb. minimum and although I am sure I could bone that much meat, I didn't think I could eat that much sausage. As it is, the bear meat will be a German/cheddar pre-cooked link and a Mesquite. My 35+ pounds will be roughly 150 links. The rest of my bear roasts - I kept as you suggested Cat.
Oh yeah,,, I did buy me a new freezer. We now have two, "His & Her" freezers. I got by last year with some frozen bait in "ours" but it was made clear to me that "room" was a factor and the thought of what was in some of those "wrapped goods" was no longer appealing. I am ok with that, now with the new freezer, I won't be tossing pizza boxes out of the way to get to the "good stuff".

I had to wrap the bait,,, She'd have never let me put it in the freezer otherwise. Wrapping it and writing "steaks" on the outside is the key to a good relationship. I was thinking of doing the roasts in a slow crock pot. Maybe my seasoning and the cooker will keep it juicy & tasty/?
Grangeville is the one that will process it into sausage if I decide to go that route with any other bear meat. I don't think they will require such 100 lb. amount min. as Southfork Sausage Co.. If they will do 20 - 25 lb. min. then I'll do both sausage and salami.
Whatever I end up with, I'll need a lot of soup recipes to go with these sandwich meats. That'll be my next posted request. lol

If you can get a bunch of "smokies" made they are great on Kaiser rolls with relish and mustard. Or chunked and sauteed with onions in a cast iron skillet. I like to carry a couple in a ziplock on the line to nibble on when on the trail.

_________________EARTH FIRST: We will trap, mine and log the other planets later.